THE BEGINNINGS OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
In the Bay Area, San Francisco has always been the hub for counterculture movements in the United States. In the 1960’s, the city was home to the Summer of Love, which brought the Hippy Movement into the national spotlight.
Many of these individuals advocated for cannabis reform with little to no luck, but their hard work would pave the way for cannabis legalization decades later.
In 1964, the first cannabis legalization group was formed in the U.S. when Lowell Eggemeier of San Francisco was arrested on cannabis charges. His attorney established LEMAR (LEgalize MARijuana) shortly afterwards.
1972 saw the rise and fall of Proposition 19, an attempt to decriminalize the possession and sale of cannabis. It failed then, but the passing of the Moscone Act of 1975 reduced possession of one ounce of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor. A small but significant step towards the decriminalization of cannabis in California.
COMPASSIONATE CANNABIS CARE
The AIDS epidemic, which began in the 1980s, severly impacted the gay community in San Francisco. At this time, sick San Franciscans strived to find medical care and treatments, but suffered from social stigma.
This ultimately led to the development of compassionate cannabis care in California. Those suffering from AIDS found that using cannabis significantly reduced their symptoms and allowed them to live more comfortably.
During this time, Vietnam veteran Dennis Peron was personally impacted by AIDS, losing his partner in 1990 to the virus. Peron fought to pass Proposition P, a measure that legalized the medical use of marijuana within San Francisco city limits.
Peron later opened the first public dispensary in the United States, The San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club.
THE ROAD TO PROP 64
Prop 215 was successfully passed in 1996, known as the “Medical Cannabis Initiative”. This exempted patients and caregivers from criminal charges for growing, administering, or possessing cannabis for medicinal purposes in California.
Ten years later, Prop 64 was passed and recreational cannabis was legalized in California. This legislation opened the door for legal cannabis businesses, and wide scale access to medical and recreational cannabis in the state of California.